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Avatar, Book Two
Avatar, Book Two is the second novel in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine s Avatar duology, the first story in the [[dS9 relaunch|post-television finale run of DS9]], published in Publisher's description :Return to the edge of the final frontier. :As the Federation prepares to launch a counterstrike against the Dominion, Colonel Kira Nerys searches for a way to prevent another galactic holocaust. But when a newly discovered prophecy propels Jake Sisko on an impossible quest and threatens to plunge all of Bajor into chaos, Kira is forced to choose between being true to her faith…and being true to herself. :Meanwhile, as the combined crews of Deep Space 9 and the starship struggle to stop a terrorist plot to destroy the station and the ship, lives change, new friendships are forged, and the shocking truth behind a grisly murder is revealed. :The astonishing renewal of the epic adventure. Summary Beside the Great Link, Odo ponders his current life with his fellow changelings until he is interrupted by the Great Link's frequent messenger to him, Laas. The Link is in turmoil, and fears the Federation will strike at the Dominion soon in retribution for the war. On DS9, Kira rereads the prophecies and ponders the circumstances that led Istani to hide them on the station; she decides to sleep on it. On his shuttle, the , Jake plots a course back toward the wormhole after departing on a course to Earth to cover his tracks. Meanwhile in the holosuite Nog talks to Vic about his concerns about having a Jem'Hadar in the station. Elsewhere, Ezri engages said Jem'Hadar in a sparring session to try and gain his respect and get him to open up to her and reveal his motives. In ops the crew observe as Jake's shuttle enters the wormhole, but quickly dismiss the activity, putting it down to the wreckage of the Aldebaran. In the security office Kira informs Ro of her conclusions; the prophecies should be dealt with by the Chamber of Ministers. Ro has other idea though and takes the book back, claiming it as evidence in her investigation. Later Kira visits Kasidy to tell her about one of the prophecies, one of which would seem to indicate ten thousand people will have to die before her baby is born. On the Enterprise, Vaughn takes an opportunity to relax on the holodeck. Back on DS9, Ezri asks Julian to give her a little more space to explore her relationship with her former hosts as she begins to better understand the possibilities of being joined. At Quark's Nog and Shar enjoy some time together, sampling each others' cultures, thought more often Nog's as Shar avoids talking about his own people. Their friendly banter is interrupted by Quark and then a communication to Shar from his zhavey which he leaves to answer – as ever they exchange polite pleasantries before she begins to pressure him to carry out his duties to the family. After terminating the call he kicks the monitor and smashes it in fury. In Kira's office, Kira tells Yevir about the prophecies, which he reveals is the purpose of his trip to the station. They are joined by Ro and Kasidy and Yevir goes on to admit the Vedek Assembly sanctioned the murder of Istani. Later, just as she finishes off a period of mediation, Shar hails Kira to inform her the Enterprise has just dropped out of warp and is requesting docking and some repairs following their experiences in the Badlands. She heads up to the docking port to meet Captain Picard. At the airlock she meets Picard, Vaughn, and Riker and brings them up to speed on recent events. Elsewhere, Ezri is called by Kira to talk with Vaughn about the Jem'Hadar, and passes Bashir on the way to give Kitana'klan his latest dose of white. Vaughn tells Ezri about some (unofficial) Starfleet research which indicates Jem'Hadar may become less dependent on ketracel white with age. This strikes Ezri as odd, given Odo apparently selected Kitana'klan, yet he is a young Jem'Hadar. After the discussion, Ezri takes Vaughn to find some guest quarters while Kira and Picard visit a Bajoran shrine where Picard has the orb beamed in, to Kira's delight. Meanwhile in the cargo bay, just as Bashir begins to deliver Kitana'klan a new cartridge of white the Jem'Hadar springs into action, he throws the doctor across the room and makes his escape, leaving Bashir to lose consciousness as he feels his blood pool around him. In Ro's office, Kira is called in to mediate an argument. Vedek Yevir is furious because someone uploaded the Ohalu prophecies onto the Bajoran comnet, and he suspects Ro. Kasidy is also present and irritable at the prophecies getting out, with quite enough stressing her. After a brief argument Kira admits it was her that uploaded the book. Both Yevir and Kasidy react badly, while Ro is simply stunned. The argument is brought to a conclusion when Vaughn hails, having found the victims of Kitana'klan's escape. While Ezri goes with Bashir to the infirmary Vaughn, soon joined by Kira and a contingent of guards, sets about tracking the Jem'Hadar, using the trail of gravitons from its shroud to trace it. Meanwhile on the Enterprise the crew spring to action, ready to help in a potential evacuation of the station, and Dr. Crusher and Counselor Troi proceed to the infirmary to help cover for the downed doctor Bashir. In ops, Shar assists Kira and Vaughn's team, and Kitana'klan's plan soon becomes clear; he intends to destroy the station by sabotaging the fusion reactors. As they track the Jem'Hadar Kira issues to order to evacuate the station, and doing the maths in her head shocking realises the compliments of the Enterprise and along with the stations population total almost exactly 10,000. Is the prophecy about to be fulfilled? The team beam into the lower core to stop Kitana'klan; he quickly dispatches one of the security guards and severely injures Kira, but is then killed himself, by another Jem'Hadar! But the team were too late; Kitana'klan was able to initiate an overload and in mere minutes the station will be destroyed. A confused and incoherent Kira regains some consciousness and directs Vaughn to take them to the top of the fusion core where she can authorize its ejection. With the help of the new Jem'Hadar, named Taran'atar, Vaughn gets Kira to the control station and the core is ejected, pushing the station out of its position as it explodes just far enough away. A short time later, Kira is sufficiently recovered from her injuries to attend a meeting with the leaders of the allied fleet, now stationed just off of Deep Space 9. There, Taran'atar explains his presence on the station – as Kitana'klan had claimed, he was sent by Odo as an envoy, and he had been hunting down the rest of Kitana'klan's men to stop them destroying the station. As proof he gives Kira a chip with a recording from Odo confirming the story. Happy with Taran'atar's story, the allied fleet cancels its planned incursion into the Gamma Quadrant. Later, Vaughn contacts his superior officers and announces his plan to fill DS9's vacant first officer post. The reaction is not positive, but they are forced to agree when he threatens his retirement as the alternative option. In her office Ro Laren is greeted by Quark, who offers her a cup of Darjeeling tea and asks if she might join him for dinner. She agrees on the condition that it is as friends. A moment later Jean-Luc Picard pays her a visit, hoping to settle her guilt for betraying him to join the Maquis years previously. Picard then makes his way to the Enterprise and bids Elias Vaughn a fond farewell before departing the station, content with the recent turn of events. A short time later Vaughn goes to find Kira to ask for the post he had got his permission to take and discusses with her his orb experience. Later, Kira, inspired by the discussion, and wanting to clear the her mind, decides to use the orb for an experience of her own. A short time later Kira, driven by the experience, takes Kasidy, Ro and Yevir on the to B'hala; there she follows her instincts to where Istani had found Ohalu's prophecies and begins to dig into the wall. There she cuts through into a massive chamber, filled with ten thousand bodies. The ten thousands Ohalu foretold that would usher in the birth of Kasidy's child. Later, on the station, Kira hosts a small function with the station senior staff to welcome Vaughn and Taran'atar to the station. Kira is happy, her job, her faith, her own being are all well. However, Kira's good mood is not to last. Returning to her office, she receives word Yevir has found his revenge, he has had her attainted, ejected from the Bajoran faith. Meanwhile, on the Venture, after three days in the wormhole nothing has happened, Jake begins to think he's on a fool's errand and prepares to go home. At that moment a mass of light and energy lights up the path ahead of him and he is pulled deeper into the wormhole. The Venture is buffeted about and Jake loses consciousness, the last thing he sees is his father's face… References Appendices Related stories Timeline The duology is set in April of 2376, three months after the final Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episode, "What You Leave Behind". }} }} }} External link * category:dS9 novels